Political Dig

John McCain Says Trump Is Not Being Straight About Niger Ambush, Hints Congressional Probe

During an interview Wednesday, Sen. John McCain accused the Trump administration of not being forthcoming about the attack in Niger that left four US soldiers dead and two wounded.

According to CNN, the Arizona Senator, who is the chairman of the Senate armed services committee, told reporters that he would like to get the information that his panel “deserves and needs” in order to decide if Congress should launch an investigation into the attack.

Pressed on whether the administration was being up front about the ISIS-affiliated attack, McCain answered bluntly: “No.”

McCain did not go into detail about what kind of information he was looking for, saying only that he was interested in “all the specifics.”

“That’s why we’re called the Senate armed services committee. It’s because we have oversight of our military,” he said. “So we deserve to have all the information.”

The Defense Department is reportedly conducting an initial review of the deadly attack, searching for precise answers as to how ISIS-affiliated fighters were able to ambush the group of soldiers two weeks ago.

According to the report, a comprehensive investigation of the timeline has been ordered by US Africa Command and includes all the military branches and elements of US intelligence agencies that were involved in the mission. Team members who were on the ground are being interviewed about what happened as well as preparations for the mission.